A Bridge of Allan woman has issued a ‘call for action’ from people across Stirling to find homes for Ukrainians fleeing the war in their country.
Marie Gardner has made the appeal following rising numbers of Ukrainians seeking to make their way to the area after seeing friends and family members already being hosted locally.
Marie, originally from France, has been active in the local Ukrainian support effort right back to the start of the conflict when she was one of the many volunteers from the town who collected and dispatched mountains of aid donations via the local parish church.
She has also become involved in the ‘ScotHosts’ organisation, which provides a support network to thousands of Scots seeking to host in their own homes, including visa application help and a welcome pack for new arrivals upon their entry into Scotland.
Her latest appeal - made via the Bridge of Allan Support for Ukraine Facebook page - has seen her successfully secure a home for a mother and her two teenage sons in the town, but the drive to find more local hosts is continuing.
Marie said: “We’re not asking people to be committed but rather just to think about it and if they are not quite sure, then they can have a chat with me and see if it is appropriate for them.
“I registered with all of the websites almost straight away and now I’m contacted quite regularly from friends of friends looking to take on families looking for accommodation but we’re short of hosts at the moment.
“There is already a sizeable community of Ukrainians already here or set to arrive in Stirling, Bridge of Allan and Dunblane but it is now quite slow because the people who really wanted to host knew that and registered right away.
“There are loads of families now looking for help and because their friends are here, they don’t want to be too far away.”
Among the concerns that Marie recognises with locals looking into hosting Ukrainian families is a fear over opening their homes to strangers - with Marie recognising the need for safeguarding and the use of third-party intermediaries to make both sides comfortable with the arrangement.
“It is a big step to take on someone in their family and in their home”, Marie added.
“That’s why it is important to have conversations and video calls in advance to get the human feel because while on paper we match, you need to check whether the person gets on with you and that’s also a safeguarding protection because it could be anyone.
“There is a fear of the unknown so it’s about trying to make it less scary and more comfortable, the want and willingness is there for a lot of people but maybe they aren’t ready to take that final step.”
